Friday, November 17, 2006

Remember that quote at the end of ROCKY? After their 15 round battle of the ages, both fighters, having laid it all out on the line, wanted the epic clash they had just participated in to speak as The Fight between them. Not one of many. Not part of some doubleheader or trilogy. Not the first in a series. Nope, one and done. Even the loser felt that way.

Which is exactly how I feel about Michigan-Ohio State.

Win or lose, no matter what happens Saturday, there should not be a rematch in January. To quote Rocky, "Don't want one."

Unfortunately, just as Hollywood ruined the ROCKY legacy with something like 52 sequels, I believe a replay of this weekend's showdown in the BCS title game would also be a mistake. The beauty to me of college football is that each game matters. There are no mulligans. No do-overs. No repeats. Each team gets their shot this weekend. The winner advances, the loser doesn't. Period.

That's why they call this clash between the Buckeyes and Wolverines simply The Game. Not The Games. Not The First Game. Just...The Game. One. singular. Winner take all. That's why the feeling is so euphoric for the victor, and the pain so great for the vaniquised. Because there are no second chances when it comes to Michigan vs. Ohio State.

And that's how it should remain.

So when OSU coach Jim Tressel and Michigan's Lloyd Carr meet at midfield after the game under the November sky at the 'Shoe Saturday, no matter what the outcome, besides the usual handshake, I hope they throw out a movie quote or two as well.

I agree. However, all the other teams (again provided Rutgers loses to WVU)have lost and one them will get a shot. Since a once loss team has to play the winner this weekend, shouldn't it be the most deserving?

Anon 6:30, you're correct; however, a one-loss OSU or UofM has not demonstrated that they arethe most deservng (regardless of the outcome of The Game) if Arky and UofF win out going into Atlanta. All talk about Rutgers should end now regardless of their game at WVU, there's no need to start a Rutgers/cindarella frenzy and get the Sopranos excited in Jersey. We're talking about the college football's championship game, not a small mid-major team running on fumes beyond their life expectancy like George Washington in the hoops tourney last March. If SoCal beats ND then it's an issue between SoCal and a potential SEC-one loss winner. If ND wins, then it's clearcut- a one-loss SEC winner than should get the invite to play the winner of UofM and OSU. Unfortunately, a one-loss UofM or OSU after Saturday may be a better team, but they will not have done anything more than UofF, SoCal, or Arky to prove it, an unfortunately they don't have any other games to prove it, whereas UofF and Arky both have more than one big potential-poll-boosting games ahead of them.

Yost, I can see where you're coming from. If I were in a similar situation, and Texas faced a possible rematch with Oklahoma for the national championship, I would probably not want it to happen.

But as a college football fan, I want to see the two best teams line up and play in Glendale - rematch or not.

If USC wins out, they deserve to go to Glendale. If they don't, and Florida wins out, then they would deserve it. Beyond that, I can't see any other one-loss (or undefeated) teams more deserving than Ohio State and Michigan.

And in the end, you might not have a choice. Stranger things have happened than Cal beating USC, or Florida losing to Arkansas, or (for King) Rutgers losing to West Virginia, etc., etc.

Believe me, it's not like I'm slapping your mommas. This is the highest compliment I can give.

Let me just say that living in Virginia, and out of the line of fire for the first time in my life, is quite depressing, especially this year.

If we're honest with ourselves, then the NC game has never been about who has the best team because there is literally no way to objectively evaluate a team. We justify our teams by saying that we beat other people who were voted to be good. Does anybody really think that Kansas State is "better" than Texas? So a NC is really a popularity contest, except now, we've wandered from the "prom queen" model we used to have, and swayed to a "prom queen deathmatch" model where the top two candidates mudwrestle to win(mental note:good idea).

For me, 1997 was more about beating the buttguys(I still crack up at that comment even if it is childish) than it was about a NC. I certainly had more conversations about the former. The game is THE GAME. Whether or not they rematch for the NC doesn't matter a whole lot to me. Even if a win in a neutral would mean that Michigan gets the championship. The rivalry is about this one game.

So let the fuzzy logic continue about who deserves what. All I'm gonna say is that I'm gonna see what jangling my keys on the East Coast can do for the Blue. I've already warned the congregation not to expect an upright intern on Sunday.

Im all for it playing again. In 1988, my alma mater Sacramento State played our arch-rival ucdavis-sucks! in the first round of the Div. II playoffs. Both games that year were at their place. And we won both of them! In the regular season game, we snapped their 18-game winning streak against us. So having two games on their turf in the same year and knocking the you know what out of them was priceless.

The one part of this tht complicates the issue for me as all the talk about "who's the best one loss team in the country?" Too me, the best one loss team in the country will be the loser of the Michigan-Ohio State game.

Needless to say, I was happy to see Texas, Auburn, and Cal recently lose. Florida and Southern Cal losing soon would be nice too. As far as I am concerned, this Saturday's game determines the best team in the country.

What does really concern me is Notre Dame sitting at #5 in the BCS rankings. If they beat Southern Cal and Florida--and maybe Arkansas as well--lose, and then we have to listen to returning to glory, blah, blah, blah, isn't Brady Quinn just dreamy, blah, blah, blah, and ooh that Charlie Weis is just a genius.

I can live with any other team getting the hype about having a chance to upset Michigan/Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game, but after seeing what I saw back in September, Notre Dame getting treated as a serious #2 team in the nation would seriously irk me.

Yeah ND did suck that day in September. However the level of suckiness was no worse than MI against Ball Freakin State. I myself would love to see a re-match between ND and MI. I believe MI played their best game of the year in South Bend and ND their worst (Shit happens but to say a 1 loss ND team doesn't deserve is ludicrous).

ND's performance against Michigan is no worse than Michigan's performance again Ball State? Really? Is Brady Quinn your second string quarterback? Is Jeff Samardjisaskdjfkasdfjlsa your fourth WR? Is Darius Walker your backup RB? If they are, then maybe it's a similar situation.

If the beauty of college football is that every game means something, then no way a rematch is good for anybody.

Actually, I would not have a problem with ND jumping even you guys. If people can give a pass to say Arkansas, then by rihgts, ND should get one too. BUt only to allow the winner to bitch-slap them (again) back to mid-major status where they were before Fat-Ass's hype machine brought them back.

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